A laryngoscope is a medical device that is used to position an endotrachel tube into a patient's trachea. In particular, a laryngoscope is used to expose a patient's aditus of the larynx thereby allowing the insertion of an endotracheal tube past the patient's vocal cords into the patient's trachea. The insertion of an endotracheal tube provides an airway for ventilation and prevents foreign substances from entering the patient's trachea and lungs.
Generally, traditional laryngoscopes with straight and curved blades do an adequate job in exposing the aditus of the larynx. In particular, a straight laryngoscope blade is typically used to lift a patient's epiglottis to expose the aditus of the larynx. However, the straight blade takes up relatively a lot of space in the patient's mouth and throat and can hamper a visual pathway to the epiglottis. The curved blade is typically used to displace the entire glottis structure anteriorly to expose the aditus of the larynx. An example of a curved blade is the MacIntosh blade (U.S. Pat. No. 2,354,474). However, in some cases these traditional laryngoscopes do not work efficiently because of injury or the patient's anatomy. An improved laryngoscope blade having a flared distal end and a cutout sidewall section near the proximal end of the blade was disclosed by the present inventor in U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,972 which is herein incorporated by reference. There is a desire in the art to have a further improved laryngoscope blade that is efficient in routine as well as non-routine intubations.
For the reasons stated above and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for an improved laryngoscope blade that is efficient in routine as well as non-routine intubations.